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diff --git a/39455-h/39455-h.htm b/39455-h/39455-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c50461 --- /dev/null +++ b/39455-h/39455-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1543 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Is Life Worth Living Without Immortality? by M. M. 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M. Mangasarian + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license + + +Title: Is Life Worth Living Without Immortality? + A Lecture Delivered Before the Independent Religious Society, Chicago + +Author: M. M. Mangasarian + +Release Date: April 16, 2012 [EBook #39455] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IS LIFE WORTH LIVING WITHOUT *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Paul Clark and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="transnote"> +<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></p> +<p> +Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as +possible, including non-standard spelling and punctuation. +</p> +<p> +Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made. They are +listed at the end of the text. +</p> +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + +<blockquote> +<p><big> +<i>Sacrificing the earth for paradise is giving up +the substance for the shadow.</i></big></p> + +<p class="right">—Victor Hugo.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<h1>Is Life Worth Living<br /> +Without Immortality?</h1> + +<p class="center">A Lecture Delivered Before<br /> +the Independent Religious<br /> +Society, Chicago</p> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="center">By</p> +<h3>M. M. MANGASARIAN</h3> + +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p>I may be doing you an injustice, Bertie, but it +seemed to me in your last that there were indications +that the free expression of my religious views had +been distasteful to you. That you should disagree +with me I am prepared for; but that you should object +to free and honest discussion of those subjects +which above all others men should be honest over, +would, I confess, be a disappointment. The Free-thinker +is placed at this disadvantage in ordinary +society, that whereas it would be considered very bad +taste upon his part to obtrude his unorthodox opinion, +no such consideration hampers those with whom +he disagrees. There was a time when it took a brave +man to be a Christian. Now it takes a brave man +not to be.</p> + +<p class="right"> +SIR A. CONAN DOYLE,<br /> +The Stark Munro Letters—Fourth Letter.<br /> +</p></blockquote><hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2><a name="Is_Life_Worth_Living_Without" id="Is_Life_Worth_Living_Without">Is Life Worth Living Without +Immortality?</a></h2> + + +<p>Is life worth living? If we are in good health, it certainly +is. In a certain sense, even to ask such a question implies +that we are not at our best. It is the sick, mentally as well as +physically, who question the value of life. We cannot appreciate +health too highly. Our philosophy of life is more +profoundly affected by the condition of our body than we have +any idea. If I were composing a new set of beatitudes, one +of them would be in exaltation of health:</p> + +<p><i>Blessed are they that have health, for they shall take +pleasure in life.</i></p> + +<p>Health also inspires <i>faith</i> in life. The first commandment +of the decalogue, instead of reading, "Thou shalt have no +other gods before me," which is metaphysical and without +definite meaning, could with much advantage be altered to +read:</p> + +<p><i>Thou shalt not trifle with thy health.</i></p> + +<p>How fortunate it would have been for man had the "Deity" +given that as his first and best thought to the world! Then, +indeed, would he have been the friend of man. We cannot +preserve our health without observing all the other commandments—of +temperance, purity, sanity, self possession, contentment, +and serenity of mind. "Behold I bring unto you health" +ought to be the glad tidings of salvation. Give us that, and +all the rest will be added unto us. Health is the foundation +of character. If the foundation is insecure—if we have inherited +disease and corruption, we can be sound, neither in +our thoughts nor in our actions. The time may come when +to be sickly will be considered a crime. A revolution in our +feelings in this matter is already taking place. Formerly it +was thought that the path to self-development is through sorrow +and suffering, and that the sick were the saints. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +verdict of science today, which has been confirmed by the +growing experience of man, is that pleasurable activity is the +most wholesome environment for man. Happiness has upon +human nature the same effect that the sunshine has upon the +soil. Man is a failure if he is not happy. The highest accomplishment +is the ability to enjoy life. To those who say +that service or usefulness is the noblest aim of life, we answer, +"Why should those who serve the noblest ends of life be +unhappy?"</p> + +<p>But let me first present to you the answer which one of +America's best known psychologists, Prof. William James, of +Harvard, gives to this most interesting question. Prof. James +is a teacher not only of the young men in one of our leading +Universities, but his ideas have become a part of the furniture +of the American mind. Both his thought and the candor with +which he expresses himself have secured for him a large following. +Prof. James has an engaging style. Not that he is not +also a profound thinker, but his sentences are as symmetrical as +they are solid. He writes to be understood. That, I take it, +is the secret of the masters of style. The gods always speak +from behind "clouds and darkness." That explains why it is +so difficult to understand what they say. But the great teachers +permit no screens, draperies, curtains, or hangings of any +sort to come between them and the public. There is nothing +hidden about their thoughts. Neither do they speak in parables. +Whoever can not make himself understood should +hold his peace.</p> + +<p>The parents of this renowned psychologist were Swedenborgians, +and I believe the professor is still, nominally, at least, +a member of the Swedenborgian church. Swedenborg, as +you know, was a mystic; he was, indeed, a sort of a medium, +who claimed to have seen and conversed with God face to face, +and to have received from him a supplementary revelation, in +some such sense that Mrs. Eddy or Joseph Smith received +one. Of course, Swedenborg was also a philosopher, which +Smith and Eddy are not. The early connections and training +of Prof. James explain in part his interest in the work of the +Psychical Research Society, of which he is one of the officers. +So-called spiritist or occult phenomena, such as automatic slate +writing, table tipping and telepathy, have always interested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +Prof. James, but he is by no means an easy victim, though he +looks forward hopefully to the time when science will definitely +locate the undiscovered country whose bourne has not yet been +sighted.</p> + +<p>Some years ago when Prof. James and I were summer +neighbors in New Hampshire—near Chocorua lake—I heard +the professor deliver a lecture on hypnotism in the village +church of Tamworth. An incident occurred at the time which +has its bearing on the experience our Society is having with +the directors of the Orchestral Association. While Prof. James +was explaining the phenomena of hypnotism from the pulpit, +I saw, from where I was sitting, an elderly woman showing +signs of restlessness in her seat. Presently she rose to her +feet, walked up the aisle slowly, and taking her stand directly +in front of Prof. James on the platform, she upbraided him for +desecrating the House of God by delivering in it a lecture +on hypnotism. In clear, though trembling tones, she ordered +him out of the church. Naturally the professor was greatly +embarrassed, as was also his audience. The old woman, however, +was soon prevailed upon by the elders of the church to +resume her seat and keep the peace. But she was trying to +oust Prof. James from the church, as the trustees of this +building are trying to oust our Society from this hall, on account +of religious differences. The old woman of New Hampshire +was not successful, and I trust that the old woman of +Chicago will not fare any better. To close a hall to a movement +is an easy thing, but to close the ear of the world to its +message is not so easy.</p> + +<p>I have spoken of the early education of Prof. James in +order to explain the metaphysical bent of his mind. As a +psychologist, he has an international reputation, but his greatest +vogue is among, what are called, the liberal Christians. +The orthodox have no use for him, but to those who are +endeavoring to interpret Christianity so as to make it harmonize +with modern thought—who are filling the ancient skins +with wine newly pressed—he is a defender and a champion of +the faith. Prof. James seems to have discovered a way by +which one can be a scientist and a supernaturalist at the same +time. He appears to be of the opinion that a person may deny +or reject many of the orthodox dogmas, and still be justified in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> +calling himself a Christian. He is, in fact, one of the New +Theologians, who are supposed to have reconstructed Christianity, +and saved the supernatural. For this service, Prof. +James and his <i>confreres</i> are held in high esteem by those who +would have had to give up Christianity but for their timely help.</p> + +<p>In his lecture on, "Is Life Worth Living," the professor +admits that he is writing for the pessimists. It is they who +are in the "to be or not to be" mood of mind. The optimist +does not need consolation, for he is incapable of even suspecting +that life is not worth living. Some temperaments are as incapable +of depression or gloom, as others are of happiness. +If there are parts of the world on which the sun never goes +down, so there are natures which know no night. We make +a mistake, however, if we think that the pessimist represents a +lower type of mental evolution. On the contrary, pessimism +comes with civilization, and it generally attacks men and +women of a higher culture. Suicide is rare among the negroes +or the less advanced races; but in the United States, representing +the most perfect type of civilization, dowered magnificently, +and rich in the possession of the treasures of art and nature; +in America, the home of hope and opportunity—with its immense +prairies, its great West, its army of earth-subduers, +empire-builders, large-natured, generous, daring, enduring, +restless, resistless pioneers—more than three thousand people +every year kill themselves. If we were to seek for an explanation +of this strange phenomenon, the nearest we can come to +it would be to say that these people prefer death to life because +they do not find life worth their while. There is not enough in +it to satisfy them. To use an Emersonian phrase, life is to +them no more than "a sucked orange." When the perfume, +the aroma, the taste, the tints, and the juices have been extracted +from the fruit—who cares for what is left.</p> + +<p>Of course, these remarks have no reference to the cases of +sudden suicide, committed in a moment of frenzy—when a man +driven, as it were, by a storm in the brain, lets go of his hold +and slips into the darkness. The professor has in mind +rather those who even though they do not commit suicide, live +on reluctantly, under protest, and who treat life as we would +a guest who has overstaid his welcome, and to whose final +departure we look forward with pleasure.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + +<p>But there is still another class of pessimists who need to +be reasoned with. These are the people who brood over the +existence of evil in the world, and feel the misery of the many +so keenly, that they think it involves a point of honor to consent +to be happy in such a world. The contemplation of human sorrow, +the surging waves of which break upon every shore; and +the cry of human anguish rising like the blind cry of all the seas +that roll, has a tendency to slacken the hold of the reflective +mind upon life. Prof. James admits that pessimism is essentially +a religious disease, in the sense that it results from the +inability of man to entertain two contradictory thoughts at the +same time: A father in heaven, whose tender mercies are +over all his children, and children dying of hunger and neglect! +Infinite wisdom enthroned in heaven, and a world running +topsy-turvy. The refined mind cannot contemplate this contradiction +without distress. If God is everywhere, why is there +darkness anywhere? If there is within reach an ocean of +truth, why is it doled out to us in driblets which hardly wet +our lips, when we are burning with thirst? Religion provokes +desires which it cannot satisfy, and makes promises which it +will not fulfil. It is this contradiction which bites the soul +black and blue. God is infinite! and behold we are starving. +God is light! and we grope in darkness. God is great! and +we cannot budge without crutches. It is this thought which +teases us out of our peace of mind. The idea of a God, +gifted with infinite parts, measured against the helplessness +of man, makes for pessimism.</p> + +<p>But in the opinion of Prof. James, religion alone can cure +the disease which religion creates. By religion, he does not +mean merely loving one's neighbor and being loyal to one's +best thoughts. Religion, according to Prof. James, means the +belief that beyond this present life, "there is an unseen world +of which we now know nothing positive but in its relation to +which the significance of our mundane life consists." If this +is the first act of an unending drama, it would have great +worth and significance, but if it is a detached and disconnected +piece, upon which the curtain will soon fall never to rise again—if +it is never going to be finished—it loses, according to Prof. +James, its seriousness. In other words, it is the belief that +man is an eternal being whom no catastrophe can crush or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +annihilate, which makes our present existence worth while, +and which also reconciles us to the discipline of pain and evil. +Life is worth living, in short, if man is immortal. This is +the drift of Prof. James' teaching, as it is also that of all +supernaturalists.</p> + +<p>What evidence does the professor offer to prove the existence +of an unseen world and the immortality of man? He +offers none. He admits that science has not as yet demonstrated +the reality of an invisible world. Perhaps it never +will, but what of that? "You have got a right to believe in +an unseen world," declares the professor. Is it not interesting? +It will be seen that if the professor has no evidence, +he has many arguments. One of his arguments is that, since, +we must either believe or disbelieve in a future life, neutrality +in the matter being an unattainable thing, why not take our +choice, and while we are at it, choose immortality. Another +argument is, that as our longings and yearnings in other directions +have turned out to be prophetic, we have every reason +to believe that the desire for eternal life also will be fulfilled. +Art, science, music, health, have come to us because of an +inner impulse which prompted us to go after them. A similar +impulse urges us to seek the divine, which is a sort of proof +that the divine exists. Still another argument is this: All the +great successes or achievements of life came as a result of the +courage that takes risks. Without audacity, man would never +have crossed the ocean, or invented the aeroplane. If the +belief in immortality requires the taking of risks, if it is +hazardous even to hold it, we should not hesitate on that +account, since some of the best things have come to us by taking +risks. Start out for God and immortality; and some day you +may cast anchor in the shining waters that lap the shores of a +divine continent. "We are free to trust at our own risk anything +that is not impossible," concludes the professor. Finally, +there is the argument from analogy, which I may explain by +a personal experience. In the Pasteur Institute in Paris, last +summer, I saw in the vivisection room, physicians in their +white aprons, operating upon live rabbits, cutting and dissecting +them, while the helpless creatures were so fastened to the tables +that they could not move a muscle. Now all this must seem +very cruel to the rabbit. It must think the physician a butcher,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +devoid of all feeling, or justice, and it must perforce denounce +the world in which such wanton torture is inflicted by the strong +upon the weak. But if the rabbit could take a larger view, if +it could be made to see that its sufferings are contributing to +the progress of science and the amelioration of the conditions +of life upon this planet, and thereby helping to hasten the day +when disease shall be conquered, would it not be reconciled to +the physician's knife and the operating table? The larger +view which would embrace the world unseen will help to give +to evil, suffering and misery, which now we do not understand, +a <i>raison d'être</i>. The part of wisdom as well as of courage then, +is to "believe what is in the line of our needs, for only by the +belief is the need fulfilled. Refuse to believe, and you shall +indeed be right, for you shall irretrievably perish. But believe, +and again you shall be right, for you shall save yourself."</p> + +<p>It will be seen by what has preceded, that Prof. James +of Harvard University, throws the weight of his influence +on the side of those who have always maintained that God and +immortality are indispensable to the happiness of man. In his +opinion, what a man would be if deprived of his reason, the +universe would be if deprived of a God, and life, of a future +existence. The eminent psychologist takes the further position +that it is immaterial whether or not there is any evidence to +prove the existence of a God or of a life after death. If the +belief is essential to our happiness and usefulness, he thinks +we have got the right to entertain it, irrespective of the question +of evidence. "If there is a belief of any kind to which you +have taken a special fancy, or one that you feel like crying for," +the professor seems to say, "help yourself to it; you have +only yourself to suit." Even if such a belief should involve +an element of risk, we are urged to take the risk. If it requires +audacity even to believe in a God and immortality, we +are told to have the audacity. It is his idea that when we are +dealing with the unknown, the important thing is the heart's +desire, and not the question of evidence. In passing, I might +suggest that Prof. James would never have thought of pushing +aside with such nonchalance, the question of evidence, were it +not for an irrepressible suspicion that the evidence is against +him. He hopes to do without the evidence because the evidence +will not help him. This reminds us of the saying of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +philosopher Hobbes, that, men are generally against reason +when reason is against <i>them</i>.</p> + +<p>As already intimated, the liberal party in the church regards +Prof. James as a defender of the faith. He is classed with such +men as Sir Oliver Lodge and Lord Kelvin, who though scientists +still believe in the supernatural, and by their example have +made such a belief respectable. It must be borne in mind, +however, that these distinguished men are Christians only, if +at all, in a very loose sense of the word. All the cardinal doctrines +of revelation, such as the creation, the atonement, the +incarnation, and a personal God—even one, to say nothing of +a trinity—they reject. These gentlemen have not enough +faith to be baptised to-day, had they not been baptised in their +childhood,—or to be received into any Christian church without +greatly stretching the rules in their behalf. It remains then +quite true, and the argument has not yet been answered, that +there is not a single eminent thinker in the world to-day who +will subscribe to the creed of Christendom without first going +through it with a blue pencil, or a pair of scissors. But Prof. +James, as also Lodge and Kelvin, if they are not supernaturalists +in the ordinary sense of the word, neither are they anti-supernaturalists. +They are between and betwixt, if I may use +that phrase—not quite ready to part with supernaturalism +altogether, nor yet able to hold on to it in its entirety, and so +they linger somewhere on the borders or the edge of it.</p> + +<p>The first remark I have to make on the position of these +newly recruited defenders of supernaturalism—even though the +supernaturalism which they defend be of the attenuated kind—is, +that their argument is not even an improvement on that of +the theologian. I like the dogmatic and autocratic, "thus +saith the Lord," of theology, much better than the "suit yourself" +of these gentlemen. The one position is as destructive of +intellectual integrity, as the other. The theologian starts with +the fallacy that God can make a thing true by an act of his +will—that his <i>say so</i> makes all need of evidence superfluous. +Prof. James and the men of his school start with a proposition +equally fatal to the truth—namely; that whatever we wish to be +true concerning the unknown is true. All that is needed, for +instance, to give the universe a God is to wish for one. All +that is necessary to make a man immortal is to desire and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +believe that he is. "The Will to Believe," which is the title +of one of the professor's writings, makes truth the creature of +man, as theology makes it the creature of God. You see that +after all, the theologian and the "scientific" supernaturalist +pull together. That is to say, when science lends itself to +theology, it ceases to be scientific. It is not theology that goes +over to science, but science that goes over to theology. As +soon as science appears at the camp of theology, it is forthwith +swallowed up. When Prof. James speaks of the "will to believe," +and never mind the evidence, he is borrowing from +theology, the "will to create" of God.</p> + +<p>Even as the Deity in creating did not have to consider anything +but his glory and pleasure, likewise man in believing does +not have to consider anything but his needs and desires. Ask, +"What is Truth?" and the theologian answers: "Whatever God +wants it to be." Ask now the scientist allies of the supernatural, +"What is Truth," and they answer: "Whatever man +desires or craves it to be." Of course, it may be objected +that it is only concerning the unknown that man is permitted +to dispense with evidence and consult his will. But there is +no merit, for instance, in a man not telling any falsehoods +where he is sure of being found out; his character is tested +by his refusal to lie where he is sure he never will be found +out. It is concerning the unknown about which we can say +anything and everything we please without the fear of ever +being caught, that we should restrain ourselves and show our +loyalty to the everlasting law of honor, never to depart from +veracity. To make any assertions about the unknown is to +take an undue advantage of one's neighbors. "Truth is not +mine to do with it as I please," said Giordano Bruno, "I must +obey the truth, not command it." But the theologico-scientific +position is the very reverse of this. If a god were to ask the +question, "What is Truth?" His priests would answer, "Lord, +suit thyself." If men asked, "What is Truth?" the Harvard +professor and his colleagues would reply, "It depends upon +your will to believe."</p> + +<p>The name given to this "free and easy philosophy," if I +may use such an expression—is pragmatism, which is a word +from the Greek root <i>pragmatikos</i>, whence our word "practice" +and "practical." The idea at the basis of this philosophy is that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +whatever is practical and business-like—whatever is necessary +to a given program, is authoritative. The philosopher, Kant, +was one of the first to urge that we have a right to believe as +we please concerning the things which we can neither prove +nor disprove by evidence, if such beliefs are necessary to morality. +His modern disciples following his leadership, take the +position that it is the usefulness of a hypothesis or a belief, +and not its truth, that should concern us. "Does it work," is +the test, they say, of the value of a scheme or statement, and +not, "Is it true?" If it works, what do we care whether or +not it be true. If it does not work, it is of no help to us even +if it were true. This is identically the same argument which is +advanced by the Roman Catholics, to justify for instance, the +belief in the existence, somewhere in the universe, of a place +called purgatory. "The doctrine of purgatory works," argues +the priest, and therefore, it makes no difference whether or +not such a place really exists. It is a useful, consoling and +profitable doctrine. Therefore it is as good as true. In the +phraseology of pragmatism, millions of people want a purgatory, +therefore, there is one. And once again, to the question, +"What is Truth," the answer of both the theologian and the +pragmatist is, "Do not bother about it." And this describes +the attitude of the Protestant as well as of the Catholic toward +truth. They do not bother about it. Yes, <i>they do not bother +about it</i>. That is why progress limps and the darkness lingers. +People have been brought up not to bother about truth, which +explains why error is still king of more than half of the world. +I cannot find the words—all words fail me to express my +disappointment that a teacher of the youth in one of our +great institutions, who are to be the America of tomorrow, +should in any way contribute to the impression that truth is +secondary; that our needs, our interests, our inclinations, or +our whims, come first, and that if we have not the courage to +look the truth in the face, we can turn around and make terms +with myth and fable.</p> + +<p>If we were disposed to trip the professor, or by one single +thrust to disqualify him for further action in the arena of +thought, we could say that even from the point of view of +the pragmatist, truth comes first, and that by no imaginable +manœuvring can truth be shifted to a subordinate rank.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +It cannot be done. Listen! You may not have to prove +the existence of a God, or of a future, or of a purgatory, +before believing in it. Granted: but you have to prove and +you are trying to prove, that it is <i>true</i> that you do not have +to prove them. Even pragmatists who say that utility is before +truth, labor to prove that it is <i>true</i> that utility is before +truth. In other words, they have got to prove the truth of +their theory, whatever that may be, before they can make it +have any value, or before it can command our respect. Things +have to be true else they cannot exist. All the labor of Prof. +James has for its object the demonstration of what he considers +to be a truth, namely: that the truth of the belief concerning +the unknown is not essential. In other words, God may be true +or not, a future life may be true or not, but it has to be +true that it makes no difference whether they are true or not. +Wiggle as we may, we cannot escape the ring of reason that +embraces life. This is what I mean when I say that the stars +fight for Rationalism. Truth is so tightly screwed and made +fast to the top of the flag-pole that even hands of iron and +steel cannot pull it down to a lower notch.</p> + +<p>A second remark I would make on Prof. James' manner of +reasoning is that such arguments as he uses to prop up the +belief in God and immortality show, not confidence, but desperation, +if it is not too strong a word to use. Urging us to +take risks, to have the audacity, to ignore the question of evidence, +to suit ourselves, and, not to mind the facts, is not the +language of sobriety, but of recklessness. To say to a man +standing on the edge of a precipice and looking down into a +chasm of unknown depth and darkness, to jump over, because, +perchance, he may discover his heart's desire at the bottom, is +frantic advice, and a man has to be in a panicky state of mind +to let go of the sun and of the green earth for a possible world +at the bottom of the abyss. It was a thought of Emerson that +the humblest bug crawling in the dust with its back to the sun, +and shining with the colors of the rainbow, is a thing more +sublime than any possible angel. If there were the slightest +foundation for the belief in an unseen world, no one would +think of resorting to such extreme measures as our learned +professor does, to uphold it. When I see a man huffing and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +puffing, I do not conclude that he has a strong case, on the +contrary, I am apt to suspect that it is the weakness of his +cause which has disturbed his serenity. To tell us that we +can will ourselves immortal, or will God into existence, and +that all we need is the audacity to plunge into the unknown, +whatever the risks, reminds me of La Fontaine's parable of +the frog—who thought he could will himself into the size of a +cow—with fatal results. The beginning of wisdom is to recognize +one's limitations. To tell a man that he can <i>will</i> things +into existence is to do him an injury. Pitiful is the God, and +chimerical the immortality that has no better foundation than +the whim of man.</p> + +<p>According to the doctrine of "The will to believe" there +would be no God if there were no men to "will" his existence, +and no immortality if men did not desire it. This is +theology dressed up as philosophy or science. How was the +world made? And the theologians answer, God said, "Let +there be light, and there was light." How was God made? +And the pragmatists answer, "Man said, let there be a God, +and there was one." This is trifling. If the word is not too +harsh, I shall call it sophistry, or mental gymnastics, to which +men never resort except when straight reasoning will not help +them.</p> + +<p>Sophistry is a plea of guilty. I was debating the other +evening in a Milwaukee theater on the question of the responsibility +for the burning of Joan of Arc. While listening to the +defense of the gentleman who was trying to prove that the +Catholic Church was not responsible for her martyrdom, I +said to myself that such a defense would never have been +thought of were it not for the fact that the old claim that the +church of God cannot err had not broken down. In the same +way the defense that the bible should be taken allegorically, +proves that the old position that the bible is from cover to cover +the word of God with every letter and punctuation, as well as +word and meaning inspired, is no longer tenable. To say that +the bible must not be taken literally is but another way of saying +that the bible is not true, or that you can make it mean +what you please. Men never put up such a defense for anything +unless they are driven to it by sheer desperation.</p> + +<p>My third remark on the pragmatic philosophy of Professor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +James is that, besides doing violence to our reason, his doctrine +that an unseen world is indispensable to make life worth +living, or to help make the world moral, places man not only +in an unenviable light, but it also does him a great injustice. +If it is true that a man will make a beast of himself if he finds +out that he is not a God, I take the position that he is beyond +hope. Nothing can save him. But it is not true. It is a +priestly tale that a man will not behave himself unless we can +promise him the moon, or the sun, or eternity. A man would +only be a contemptible animal if he must be given toys and +trinkets and sawdust dolls to divert his attention from mischief. +The claim of the preachers that unless men are assured +of black-eyed houris and golden harps, or at least,—some sort +of a ghostly existence,—somewhere and at sometime in the +future, they will convert life into a debauch, is simply a falsehood. +Man is not so depraved as that. Indeed, the doctrine +of total depravity was invented by the priests to create a demand +for the offices of the church. The priest cannot afford +to believe in human nature. If a man can save himself, or +if he can do good by his own effort, what need would there +be of the mysteries and the sacraments,—the rites and the +dogmas?</p> + +<p>I had occasion to tell you a few Sundays ago that if a lily +can be white, or a rose so wondrous fair, or a dog so loyal +and heroic, without dickering with the universe for a future +reward, man can do, at least, as much. Would this be expecting +too much of him?</p> + +<p>In France, there is, in one of the close-by suburbs of Paris, +a cemetery for dogs. Of course, no priest or pastor would +think of officiating at the interment of a dog, however useful +or faithful the animal may have been. They are brought +here by their owners and quietly buried. The visitor finds +here, however, many tokens of appreciation and gratitude for +the services and value of the dog to man. Little monuments +are raised over the remains of some of the occupants of the +modest graves. One of these bears the inscription: "He +saved forty lives, and lost his own in the attempt to save the +forty-first." He did his best without the hope of a future +reward. Is man lower than the animal? Does he require the +help of the Holy Ghost, the holy angels, the holy Trinity, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +holy infallible church, and all the terrors of hell fire to make +him prefer sense to nonsense, cleanliness to dirt, honor to disgrace, +the respect of his fellows to their contempt, and a peaceful +mind to one full of scorpions? Do we have to swing into +existence fabled and mythical beings and worlds before we +can induce a human being to be as natural as a plant and as +faithful as a dog? The doctrine of total depravity is a disgrace +to those who have invented it, and a blight to those who +believe in it. It is not true that we have to be put through +acrobatic exercises,—make our reason turn somersaults, resort +to sophistry,—become frantic with fear about our future,—postulate +the existence of ghosts, Gods, and celestial abodes +before we can prefer the good to the bad and the light to +darkness. Supernaturalism is both negative and destructive. +It denies goodness, and it destroys in man the power of self-help. +Von Humboldt's indignation seems pardonable, when he +used the word "infamous," to characterize the theologian's +attempt to make the well-being of the human race depend +upon such supernatural gossip as he had to market.</p> + +<p>And what is the verdict of history on this question? Does +the belief in God and immortality make for morality? How +then shall we explain the dark ages which were ages of faith, +and why are not the Moslems, whose faith in Allah and in a +future life is very much stronger than ours, a more moral +people than the Europeans or Americans? Why was King +Leopold, the Christian, a moral leper to the hour of his death, +while Socrates, the pagan, who was uncertain about the future, +has perfumed the centuries with his virtues? Has the belief +in the supernatural prevented the criminal waste of human life, +protected the child from the sweat-shop and the factory, or +even robbed religion of its sting—the sting whose bite is mortal +to tolerance, brotherhood and intellectual honesty? There +are excellent people who believe in the supernatural and equally +excellent people who ignore the supernatural, from which it +would follow that excellence of character is independent of +one's speculations about either the eternal past, or the eternal +future. It is not true then that we have to prove to man that +he has always existed, or that he shall always exist before +we can make him see that the sunset is beautiful, or that the +sea is vast, or that love is the greatest thing in the world.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> + +<p>A man will be careful of his health whether he expects to +live again or not. He will avoid headaches, fevers, colds, +anaemia, nervous prostrations and diseases of every kind +which rack the body and make life a misery, irrespective of +his attitude to the question of survival after death. The question +of health, then, which is a very important one, is independent +of any supernatural belief. It would not affect our +health a particle were the heavens empty or full of gods. In +the same way, men will continue the culture of the mind irrespective +of theological beliefs. Will a man neglect the pleasures +of the mind, despise knowledge and remain content in +his ignorance, if he cannot be sure that he is going to live +forever? But if neither the culture of the body nor that of +the mind is in danger of being neglected, is there any reason +to fear that the culture of the affections and the conscience +will suffer without a belief in an unseen world? We have +only to look into the motives which govern human actions to +recover our confidence in the essential soundness of human +nature, and in the ability of morality to take care of itself +without the help of ghosts and gods. You love your country +and you are willing to defend its institutions, if need be, with +your life, but is it because your country is immortal? Is +America going to live forever? Is it going to have a future +existence? And yet Washington and his soldiers loved it +dearly and risked their lives for it. Were the ancient Greeks +and Romans, to whom patriotism was a religion, and who +loved and fought for their country—fools, because they did +not first make sure that their country was going to live forever? +You are devoted to art, you have built palaces for the +treasures of the brush and the chisel. You have paid fabulous +prices for the works of a Rembrandt and a Titian. Is it because +these paintings are never going to perish? Is the canvas +which you adore immortal? You prize the works of +genius—of a Shakespeare, a Goethe, a Voltaire, a Darwin. +You have edifices of marble and steel in which to house the +great books of the world. And yet a fire tomorrow may wipe +them out of existence—they may become lost, as many great +works have been lost in the past. Nevertheless, are they not +precious while we have them? If a humane society will interest +itself in the welfare of the horse and the cat and the dog,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +which live but a few years; if the flower which blooms in the +morning and fades in the evening can command our attention +and devotion—must a man be a god before we can take any +interest in him? Must somebody be always whispering in our +ears, "Ye are gods; ye are gods," to prevent us from doing +violence to ourselves or to our fellows? And men seek health +for the present, not for the future. And they cultivate the +mind to make life richer now and here. And love is desired +because it makes each passing moment a thrill and an ecstasy. +What then is the value of any speculation about the unseen +world, since man can care for his body, mind and heart, without +venturing out on an ocean for which he has neither the +sails nor the compass?</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>But the unseen world is necessary, the professor seems to +think, in order to explain the suffering and the injustice in +this. In my opinion, such a belief has done more to postpone +the reform of present abuses than anything else. The time +to suppress injustice and to relieve human suffering is now, +not in some distant future,—here and not in an undiscovered +country. The belief in God has tempted man to shirk his +responsibilities. He has left many things to be done by God +which he should have done himself. It is a nobler religion +that tells man to do all he can now, and to do it himself. +Moreover, how can what is wrong here be made right in the +next world? What, for instance, can make Joan of Arc's +atrocious murder—a girl of nineteen, who had saved her +country, roasted over a slow fire—right in heaven? What +explanation can the Deity give to us which shall reconcile us +to so infamous a crime. A million eternities, it seems to me, +cannot alter the character of that act. The deed cannot be +undone. That frightful page cannot be torn from the book +of life. You cannot destroy the memory of that injustice; +you cannot rub so foul a stain from the hands of even a God. +Suppose God were to say to us in the next world that this +crime was necessary to the progress of civilization. Would +that satisfy us? Would we not still wish for a God who +could have contributed to the progress of civilization without +resorting to so unspeakable a murder? And there you are. +Another world can never reconcile us to a policy that required<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +the commission of crimes whose stench rises to our nostrils. +What is wrong can never be made right.</p> + +<p>You remember that to illustrate the thought of Professor +James, I spoke of my visit to the Pasteur Institute in Paris, +where, in the vivisection hall, I saw the physicians operating +on live rabbits. Professor James thinks that if the rabbit could +see everything, it might say to the physician, "Thy will be +done." But the rabbit might also say this: "It is well to +advance science and civilization; and if it is a part of the +<i>scheme</i> to make me contribute to it by my sufferings, I am +resigned; but what about the character of the <i>schemer</i> who +must torture to death some of his creatures—slaughter with +excruciating pain a portion of his family—in order to make +secure the lives of the rest?" The existence of evil in a world +created by a perfect God is the rock upon which all religions +go to pieces. If God can prevent misery and crime, but prefers +to work through them, he is to be feared; if he cannot +help himself, then he is to be pitied. Who would not rather +be the rabbit on the operating table, with the knife in his +flesh, than such a God! A God who cannot make a rose red +except by dipping it in human blood can be sure that no +human being would ever envy him his office. On the last +day of judgment, if such a day there be, it will not be the +rabbit, or man, who will fear the opening of the books; it will +be God.</p> + +<p>And how do we know that things will be better in the unseen +world? Suppose they should be worse? Jesus intimated +that the next world would be worse, for he says in Matthew +7:13-14, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth +to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because +strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth +unto life, and few there be that find it."</p> + +<p>Surely this is not an encouraging prospect. A future which +offers happiness to a small minority cannot be looked forward +to with enthusiasm. Neither is the thought of a few saved +and the many damned a consolation. One of the oft-repeated +claims is that the belief in God and immortality is such a +happiness that he must be an enemy of his race who would +deprive people of it. Even Rationalists are said to envy the +believer his peace of mind. But the truth is the very opposite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +of this. There is abundant testimony to prove that of all people +the real and consistent believer is the most unhappy being +in the world. The proverbial unhappiness of the Rationalist, +like the proverbial death-bed horrors of a Thomas Paine and +a Voltaire, is a pure fabrication. While there is absolutely +nothing in Rationalism to make anybody miserable, since it +does away with fear, which is the only thing to fear, +Orthodoxy, on the other hand, starts by not only calling +this a vale of tears, but proceeds forthwith to make +it so. If we were to place the greatest known Christian +saints on the stand to interrogate them on this subject, +they would one and all confirm our statement. Listen, for +instance, to the confession of Thomas à Kempis: "Lord, I +am not worthy of thy consolation.... Thou dealest justly +with me when thou leavest me poor and desolate, for if I could +shed tears as the sea, yet should I not be worthy of thy consolation. +I am worthy only to be scourged and punished."<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> +These are not the words of a buoyant and happy soul. And +listen to the lamentation of John Bunyan: "Sometimes I could +for whole days together feel my very body as well as my +mind to shake and totter under the sense of this dreadful judgment +of God.... I felt also such a clogging and heat in my +stomach by reason of this terror that I thought my breast-bone +would split asunder. Oh, how gladly would I have been anything +but a man."<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> I could quote long chapters from the +biographies of the saints to show the wretchedness, the despair +and the agony of the believer, shuddering upon the brink of +eternity—uncertain whether heaven or hell awaits to receive +him. I could give you a similar chapter from my own experience. +When I was much younger, I had implicit faith in the +bible and the unseen world. What was the effect of this +belief upon me? Did it make me happy? I can never forget +the moments of agony I spent on my knees, at the "throne of +grace." My pillow was often wet with weeping over sins I +had never committed, and fearing a depravity I could never +be guilty of. Christianity in its virile form took hold of my +young heart as the roots of a tree take hold of the earth in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +which they grow. I was as sensitive and responsive to its +influence as fire is to the wind that fans it into flame. "Am +I saved? How can I be sure that God has forgiven me? +Where would I open my eyes if I should die tonight? Oh, +God! what if I should after all be one of the reprobates—damned +forever." Such was the terrible superstition that +cheated me out of a thousand glorious moments, and made my +youth a punishment to me. One day a member of my church +came to me in great distress of mind. He behaved like one +who had actually seen hell. "I am damned, I am damned," +he cried. "God has forsaken me; there is no hope for me." +If a wild beast had its paws in his hair, or a hound its teeth +in his flesh, he could not have been more scared. If he could +have only laughed at the stupid superstition, all the devils of +his distorted imagination would have melted into thin air.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>"Our religion does not trouble us that way," I hear the Christians +say in reply. Of course not, they no longer believe in it. +They let art, music, science, the drama, business, to divert their +attention from this Asiatic fetish. Rationalism has dissipated +the terrors of the future, and tinted the horizon with beauty +and light. But let them believe in Christianity as their fathers +believed in it, let them be sincere with it, and it will make +life miserable for them as it has for thousands of others. Yes, +believe in Christianity as the Apostle Paul did, for example, +and you must agree with him, that, "If in this life only we +have a hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." +And listen to the cry of despair from the lips of the Son of +God: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" The +nails in his hands and feet tore his flesh, but it was the thought +that he had been forsaken by God that broke his heart. Surely, +if a belief in a future life could make anybody happy, it should +have made the death of Jesus a symphony, instead of a +tragedy.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>In conclusion: Not God, nor the unseen world, but Truth +is the sovereign good. There is nothing more excellent. If +there be philosophies, they shall pass away; if there be theologies, +they shall pass away; if there be creeds, cults, gods, they +shall pass away. But Truth is <i>from</i> everlasting <i>to</i> everlasting.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote><p>In my mind's eye, I see a wonderful building, something +like the Coliseum of ancient Rome. The galleries are black +with people; tier upon tier rise like waves the multitude of +spectators who have come to see a great contest. A great contest, +indeed! A contest in which all the world and all the +centuries are interested. It is the contest—the fight to death—between +Truth and Error.</p> + +<p>The door opens, and a slight, small, shy and insignificant +looking thing steps into the arena. It is Truth. The vast +audience bursts into hilarious and derisive laughter. Is this +Truth? This shuddering thing in tattered clothes, and almost +naked? And the house shakes again with mocking and hisses.</p> + +<p>The door opens again, and Error enters,—clad in cloth of +gold, imposing in appearance, tall of stature, glittering with +gems, sleek and huge and ponderous, causing the building to +tremble with the thud of its steps. The audience is for a +moment dazzled into silence, then it breaks into applause, long +and deafening. "Welcome!" "Welcome!" is the greeting +from the multitude. "Welcome!" shout ten thousand throats.</p> + +<p>The two contestants face each other. Error, in full armor,—backed +by the sympathies of the audience, greeted by the +clamorous cheering of the spectators; and Truth, scorned, +scoffed at, and <i>hated</i>. "The issue is a foregone conclusion," +murmurs the vast audience. "Error will trample Truth under +its big feet."</p> + +<p>The battle begins. The two clinch, separate, and clinch +again. Truth holds its own. The spectators are alarmed. +Anxiety appears in their faces. Their voices grow faint. Is +it possible? Look! See! There! Error recedes! It fears +the gaze of Truth! It shuns its beauteous eyes! Hear it +squeak and scream as it feels Truth's squeeze upon its wrists. +Error is trying to break away from Truth's grip. It is making +for the door. It is gone!</p> + +<p>The spectators are mute. Every tongue is smitten with the +palsy. The people bite their lips until they bleed. They cannot +explain what they have seen. "Who would have believed +it?" "Is it possible?"—they exclaim. But they can not doubt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +what their eyes have seen. That puny and insignificant looking +thing called Truth has put ancient and entrenched Error, +backed by the throne, the altar, the army, the press, the people, +and the gods—to rout.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The pursuit of truth! Is not that worth living for? To +seek the truth, to love the truth, to live the truth? Can any +religion offer more?</p> + +<p>What is the remedy for the pessimism that asks, "Is life +worth living?" A sound mind in a sound body. There is no +better preventive of that depression of spirits whence proceed +the diseases which menace life, and mar the happiness of man, +than health—moral, intellectual, physical—health; individual +and social health. The highest ideal of Christianity is a man +of sorrows. The highest ideal of Rationalism is a man of joy!</p><hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2><a name="THE_STORY_OF_MY_MIND" id="THE_STORY_OF_MY_MIND">THE STORY OF MY MIND<br /> +<small>OR</small><br /> +HOW I BECAME A RATIONALIST</a></h2> + +<p class="center"><i>Price, Fifty Cents</i></p> + + +<p>¶ In this latest publication of the Independent Religious +Society, M. M. Mangasarian describes his religious experience—how, +starting as a Calvinist, a graduate of Princeton Theological +Seminary, and a pastor of the Spring Garden Presbyterian +Church in Philadelphia, he thought and fought his way up to</p> + + +<p class="center"><b>RATIONALISM</b></p> + +<p>¶ The book contains a dedication to "My Children," in +which the author says:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"I am going to put the story in writing, that you may have it with +you when I am gone, to remind you of the aims and interests for which +I lived, as well as to acquaint you with the most earnest and intimate +period in my career as a teacher of men."</p></blockquote> + +<p class="center"> +<i>ORDER THROUGH</i><br /> +THE INDEPENDENT RELIGIOUS SOCIETY<br /> +CHICAGO<br /> +</p> + + +<h3>EARLIER PUBLICATIONS BY MR. MANGASARIAN</h3> + +<p class="hanging-indent"><b>A New Catechism.</b> Fifth Edition, Revised and Enlarged, +with Portrait of Author. Price <span class="ralign">$1.00</span></p> + +<p class="hanging-indent"><b>The Truth About Jesus: Is He a Myth?</b> A new book of +295 pages. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.00; Paper <span class="ralign">$0.50</span></p> + +<p class="hanging-indent"><b>Mangasarian-Crapsey Debate on the Historicity of Jesus.</b> +25c.</p> + +<p class="hanging-indent"><b>Pearls.</b> (New Edition.) Brave Thoughts from Brave +Minds. Selected and arranged by M. M. Mangasarian. +25c. Presentation Edition, limp leather <span class="ralign">$1.00</span></p> + + +<p>A FEW LECTURES—10c A COPY</p> + +<p> +Is the Morality of Jesus Sound?<br /> +Rome-Rule in Ireland, with Postlude on Ferrer.<br /> +How the Bible Was Invented.<br /> +Morality Without God.<br /> +</p> + +<p>Sent postpaid on receipt of price. Ask for complete list.</p> + +<p class="center"> +INDEPENDENT RELIGIOUS SOCIETY<br /> +CHICAGO<br /> +</p> + + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> <i>Imitation</i>—III 52.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Quoted by Cotter Morrison, <i>Service of Man</i>—34.</p></div> +</div> + +<p> </p> + + +<div class="transnote"> +<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></p> +<p> +The following is a list of changes made to the original. +The first line is the original line, the second the corrected one. +</p> +<p> +other gods before <span class="u">me</span>" which is metaphysical and without<br /> +other gods before <span class="u">me,</span>" which is metaphysical and without +</p> +<p> +a <i>raison <span class="u">d'etre</span></i>. The part of wisdom as well as of courage then,<br /> +a <i>raison <span class="u">d'être</span></i>. The part of wisdom as well as of courage then, +</p> +<p> +take an undue advantage of one's <span class="u">neighbors,"</span> "Truth is not<br /> +take an undue advantage of one's <span class="u">neighbors.</span> "Truth is not +</p> +<p> +<span class="u">manœuvreing</span> can truth be shifted to a subordinate rank.<br /> +<span class="u">manœuvring</span> can truth be shifted to a subordinate rank. +</p> +<p> +frantic advice, and a man has to be in a <span class="u">panicy</span> state of mind<br /> +frantic advice, and a man has to be in a <span class="u">panicky</span> state of mind +</p> +<p> +because it makes each passing moment a thrill and an <span class="u">ecstacy</span>.<br /> +because it makes each passing moment a thrill and an <span class="u">ecstasy</span>. +</p> +<p> +<span class="u">straight</span> is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth<br /> +<span class="u">strait</span> is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth +</p> +<p> +instance, to the confession of Thomas <span class="u">A'Kempis</span>: "Lord, I<br /> +instance, to the confession of Thomas <span class="u">à Kempis</span>: "Lord, I +</p> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Is Life Worth Living Without +Immortality?, by M. 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